www.stockdalemill.org

Stockdale Mill

Summer 2015

Friends

of the

Roann, IN

Around the Mill After remaining silent since its closing in 1964, the year 2002 saw a rebirth of the spirit of the Stockdale Mill. To step inside the Stockdale Mill is to begin to understand an earlier time. Gone are the employees who took special care to provide the surrounding area with flour, corn meal and animal feed. Remaining are the pulleys, the eleva-tors and the turbines that allow the water of Eel River to provide the necessary power. Gone are the farmers hauling their grain, remaining are the machines, the sifters, and the chutes that brought their crops from the top floor to be bagged and sold on the main floor. Here is the opportunity to view and experience the ingenuity and foresight that allowed for the intricate workings of a thriv-ing mill. We welcome you to experience the preservation of history at the Stockdale Mill. This mill was built between 1855 and 1857 and contained buhr stones to grind local grain. The later part of the 1880's saw the grinding buhrs converted to four "breaks", machines with rollers that crushed wheat into flour, hence the name "Roller Mill". In 1909 and 1910 turbines were purchased to replace the original power source.

The "weigh shed" was added on the north side in 1904, and the concrete dam was built up against the original timber dam in 1915. The flour mill continued to operate until 1964. Feed production ceased in 1972. For years the mill sat idle with all of the equipment remaining in the building. “If restoration had not begun when it did, the mill would have fallen into the river by now.” That is the con-sensus of all who knew the condition of the mill as it stood in the year 2001. Today the mill stands tall and proud as a lasting testament to the days of gener-ations past. A team of tour guides was organized to lead visitors through the mill beginning in 2003. By the Fall of that year, the three water turbines had been rebuilt and put back into use. A Visitors Center was added along with restrooms and a new well. Many hands have helped in the resto-ration over the past 13 years. Hands are still needed for ongoing maintenance, and restora-tion, greeting visitors, and the many tasks that are required to illustrate bygone years.

Photos from early restoration during the Spring of 2002

SPECIAL HOURS Roann Covered Bridge Festival

tour hours:

Saturday Sept 12 10-6 Sunday Sept 13 12-4

Great Eel River Duck Race Sponsor a Duck - Support the Mill

Wanna race ?

Water Turbines

They sit quietly beneath the basement floor. They are hidden in a bath of five feet of water. They seldom need attention. When a tour guide uses both hands and some body weight to turn the control shaft, they are what brings the mill to life. Water rushes past their gates and onto their impellers causing them to spin. Water power is transferred to their power shaft and up into the mill to gears, pulleys, and belts. The mill rum-bles and shakes. Water turbines are what sepa-rates a working mill from an idle structure. The Stockdale Mill has three Leffel turbines that generate a combined 75 horsepower. During 2015 one has been down for maintenance. Un-fortunately, high water levels have hampered progress on it throughout the Summer.

Community Foundation The Stockdale Mill Foundation was initiated as a non-profit institution by Susanne and Dwight Fouts. Their dream was to stabilize the structure to save it from the deteriorating effects of weather and time. Like many old barns and factories that had outlasted their intended usefulness, it was fad-ing into oblivion. The river, the dam, and the mill formed a picturesque scene too beautiful to let fall by the wayside. The Foundation purchased the

mill site in 2002. The community quickly responded with on-site volunteer help and do-nations of skills and services. The supporting con-crete and wooden tim-bers under the mill

were renovated. The structure was “squared-up”. Following being brushed by a tornado, a new roof was put in place. Siding was restored to the origi-nal “board and batten.” New electrical wiring was placed alongside the primitive wires. Flooring was laid where needed. Dozens of projects large and small brought the mill back to life. Within a year organized tours were being conducted. Within four years machin-ery was operating on all four floors. Today the Stockdale Mill is among the most authentic water powered mills in the nation. Over 130 pieces of original equipment and related arti-facts are on display. Visitors have come from all fifty states and dozens of foreign countries to visit our local treasure.

Mill water turbine exposed during initial restoration.

* * DONATION CARD * *

Stockdale Mill Foundation

c/o Pam Musselman 5432 E SR16

Denver, IN 46926 Donation by: _______________________________ __________________________________ Amount: __________________________________ Note :

.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT Beacon Credit Union announces: “Project Spotlight is our community support program de-signed to discover worthwhile projects in each area that Beacon serves. Our hope is to be able to support community projects both large and small, and bring awareness to the many good things happening in our communities every day…. Prizes of $2,500 will be split between the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place winners in each of our 11 communities.” You may help our mill by voting online. You may vote once each day through the end of September. Go on the web to: www.beaconcu.org/project-spotlight And select: Wabash County (City of Wabash). Select “Stockdale Mill.” *psssst – pass the word*

Stockdale Mill Impressions Reminiscing with Betty Dawald My aunt Della (Morris) Deck was my mother’s old-est sister. They were two of twelve kids. Grandpa was one of twelve and he wanted twelve and this he got! Della married Jimmy Deck who ran the mill at Stock-dale. They lived on the northwest corner of the road crossing just north of the mill, a part of the village of Stockdale. Since Jimmy was my uncle by marriage (he was always “Uncle Jimmy”) he probably allowed us kids more privileges than others. He taught us how to tie a miller’s knot – that’s the tie he used on his flour sacks, 5 pounds up to 25 pounds. It was a special knot. He was proud of the design on his flour sacks for his Ro-ann Roller Mills. The art work for White Loaf Flour was created by his mother. I remember how vital the mill was to the surround-ing communities. People used to bring their wheat from miles away to be ground into flour. Women cooked on wood and coal stoves and the ovens were always warm so the women used to bake bread and a lot of food that took flour. Store-bought bread was rare even at ten cents a loaf wrapped in wax paper. We used that bread wrapper until it fell apart. We lived the barter system as most people did. We had a huckster wagon in the country three days a week. We ex-changed chickens and eggs for our groceries. My cousins and I loved to swim and play near the dam. I remember going to Marian Deck’s graduation in a church at the south end of Roann. She was always so musical – she played the piano for her own gradua-tion. Whenever I wanted to go some place, all I had to do was to give Norma Deck a call and she was ready. note: many people have paintings created by Betty including several of the mill she has made.

Our old mill could use some new FRIENDS

How about you joining our team?

Become a host or tour guide …..

Cut some grass - Swing a hammer …..

E-mail us: info@stockdalemill.org

Find us on the web:

www.stockdalemill.org

Answering machine: (765) 833-2019

Stockdale Mill Foundation Board of Directors 2015

Ron (President) & Jennifer McColley Kathie (Secretary) Grandstaff

Pam (Treasurer) & Fred Musselman David & Valerie Doud

Peggy Morris Sue Dyson

Joe & Anita Krom Mike and Linda Campbell Dwight & Susanne Fouts

Regular tour hours are

Saturdays Noon to 4PM

May through October

Special tours may be arranged for your family group or organization.

The Stockdale Mill Foundation is a non-profit Indiana corporation with the purpose of preserv-ing the Stockdale Mill. We are a 501©(3) organization, enabling donors to deduct contribu-tions. All donations are used 100% for historical preservation and restoration. We invite you to come experience what our dedicated volunteers have prepared for your visit.

Stockdale Mill Foundation c/o Ron McColley

6836 N SR15 Roann, IN 46974

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT #5 ROANN, IN

46974

RETURN REQUESTED

SUMMER 2015